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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — child
  5. dip — to sink
  6. field — for sport
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. net — after costs
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. firm — steady
  11. firm — decided
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kid — to tease
  20. firm — a company
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. net — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com